Lasershape has invested more than £2m in becoming a full-service supplier – adding fabrication, powder coat painting, assembly and packaging to its CNC laser and waterjet profiling capabilities.
The project was part funded by the D2N2 business growth program and will create around 20 jobs in Nottingham.
By refurbishing three additional units to the rear of Lasershape’s existing facility in Chilwell, Nottingham, the company has added 25,000ft² to its capacity, taking total floor space to circa 60,000ft².
The units, which are already live, house dedicated areas for fabrication, painting and assembly/packaging, as well as an inspection room that will shortly house a new co-ordinate measuring machine, new customer meeting rooms and a new accounts office.
An extra benefit is that the company will now have separate goods-in and goods-out, which will help ease congestion during busy periods. Lasershape’s three new units are connected by a specially constructed tunnel to the existing factory.
“As Lasershape has grown, so has the size of our customer profile,” says Managing Director Tim Leam. “Whilst we carry excellent supplier ratings with our customers, a growing number of larger clients were asking us to extend our capability beyond CNC laser profiling and waterjet cutting, and become a complete service supplier.”
With an investment value of £1 million, a new 7,000ft², five-stage, environmentally-friendly dry-powder paint line from Gema is at the heart of Lasershape’s expansion.
“Rather than simply transition into powder coating without any previous experience, we decided to take a more strategic approach, and avoid the usual learning curves”, explains Mr Leam. “For many years we have partnered with a paint shop in Bedfordshire called Quality Plus Finishing, a company with 20 years’ experience in high-end finishes for sectors such as medical and audio, so we asked them to consider a joint venture. They accepted and agreed to transfer their staff and experience to our facility and manage the new paint line.”
Further investment has seen five new welding bays complement a high-specification Salvagnini CNC panel bender (acquired last year) in a newly created fabrication cell, rail accreditation and 6S implementation throughout the business.
“Lasershape is now a one-stop-shop facility, which for our customers means reduced transport costs and reduced lead-times,” concludes Mr Leam. “What’s more, customers only need to raise a single purchase order to receive completed parts and assemblies, with only one company responsible for finish and final quality.”